LAS VEGAS, Nev. (FOX5) – Neighbors in the East Las Vegas Valley say a proposal to build hundreds of homes on the edge of the desert is in direct conflict with the push to protect the area and stop any future development. For years now, there’s been an effort to bring a national monument to the area.
While there is certainly a great need for more affordable housing the valley which the developer promises, there have long been community efforts to bring permanent protection to the Frenchman Mountain area by creating the East Las Vegas National Monument. It would be something similar to Red Rock Canyon National Recreation Area but on the other side of the valley. While the developer is proposing to build hundreds of homes, neighbors say they don’t want them there.
“Look at it. It is gorgeous… people come to climb, dirt bike. There is a lot of people that walk the area,” shared homeowner Sadie Hockenhull.
“If they put 400 houses between here and the mountain there, it is just going to change the whole environment,” argued homeowner Mark Young.
Hockenhull and Young moved to a home right at the edge of the valley to feel like they have a nature preserve in their backyard, untouched stunning scenic surroundings. They believe a newly proposed single-family housing development at the base of Frenchman Mountain would bring a range of issues.
“It will increase the traffic phenomenally. I mean you think 400 plus houses…whenever plans include a ton of houses it means lots more people, lots more crime,” Hockenhull contended.
The idea of adding hundreds of homes to the area is in direct conflict with the push to preserve the land. The proposed East Las Vegas National Monument, the land between East Las Vegas and Lake Mead National Recreation Area, including Frenchmen Mountain and Rainbow Gardens are a geological wonderland. Dr. Steve Rowland, Professor Emeritus of Geology at UNLV, has been studying the area for 40 years.
“It is truly unique. There is nowhere else in the world that has the geologic features that are exposed that are so readily accessible as Frenchman Mountain…so the whole history of the Earth almost is accessible right there,” explained Dr. Rowland.
The developer, Century Communities, is holding a community meeting on what they want to build this week. FOX5 reached out about the concerns and got this statement from their attorney:
“Our client has not yet submitted development plans to Clark County. Our client is continuing to work on the potential development and finalizing their development concept and plans. We look forward to sharing the vision with the neighbors and the surrounding community at the November 20th neighborhood meeting.”
The neighborhood meeting on the proposed housing development will be Wednesday night at 6 p.m. at the Hollywood Recreation Center.
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